Kind: adj: sympathetic, gentle, benevolent Syn: loving, compassionate, generous
To describe God’s loving kindness was a challenge for me. I never really sat down to think about what kindness looks like. When my girls fight, I automatically say “Why can’t you be kind to each other?” It seems like common sense and to a certain point it is.
I love how the Book of Ephesians describes the ultimate act of His kindness to me.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead I our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ –by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:5-9 (ESV)
Even when I was full of sin, He loved me. God made a way for me to be one of His children through His Son Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
But His kindness doesn’t stop there. Because He is my redeemer He will have compassion on me (Isaiah 54:8). He will provide what I need and will do kind things and give blessings (Isaiah 63:7) just because He can.
My youngest daughter came home with a medal for being on the honor roll. She was so proud that she took it with her when she walked our dog. Upon returning she was sobbing. Somehow it came loose from the ribbon and was lost.
We retraced her steps and could not find it. When I asked where she thought she lost the medal my daughter said the drainage ditch. Unfortunately we had a heavy rain the day before and the ditch was full of water.
I sent her back into the house empty handed then sat on a bench and prayed, “Daddy, help me find this medal. I know Grace is important you therefore what is important to her is important to you. Please show me where it is. I will not leave this golf course until I have it.”
I walked the path taken earlier, nothing. I even went into the ditch and kicked around the high grass, still nothing. Frustration set in, and I began wondering why God didn’t show me where the medal was. “You cared about the woman who lost the coin, and the man who lost the sheep, I know you care about this lost medal.” I decided to check the ditch again. There on a narrow strip of grass that I had walked through five or six times and saw nothing, now presented me with the shiny medal.
I felt like the woman who found her coin. I clutched it to my chest as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I praised and thanked God all the way back to the house for showing His kindness to me and my daughter.
He certainly didn’t have to do that, but He did. Why? Because He loved me, loved my daughter and wanted to demonstrate His kindness to us.
How about you? If you have seen His provision, or been given an unexpected blessing, or just had a good day, you have experienced His loving kindness. Praise Him and thank Him for it.
“I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted [*me] that he has granted [*me] according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”
Isaiah 63:7 (ESV)
*added for emphasis
Solitude with the Father 